Why Compact Products Succeed in the Market

Anyone who is interested in starting their career as an entrepreneur has definitely spent some time looking, researching, and observing both the product market and how innovation and trends change products around us. One noticeable and obvious trend in successful product design has been the increase in making products more compact, portable, or multi-functional. In this blog, our Florida industrial design studio discusses the place of compact product and their success in the product market.

What is a ‘Compact Product?’

If you’ve heard of the term ‘good things come in small packages’ then you can probably get a sense of what a compact product is. Compact product is a term used to define a miniature or smaller version of our most important daily items. Compact products are specifically designed with the goal of maintaining the same function as a normal-sized product but packed into a smaller form. They do the same job just as efficiently but all in a smaller size and (usually) lower price point. Our Florida industrial design studio believes that compact products are great options for those who like to carry less, live in smaller spaces, or consider themselves traditional minimalists. Compact products can also include the latest innovations in technology that find ways to keep all our digital devices connected in order to do more through one main product (for example, your smartphone). A lot of compact products, for this reason, include capabilities such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi in order to keep their functionality high all within a smaller-sized product.

The Intellipan, invented by our client Jerry Rodriguez and designed by Mako Design is a perfect example of a compact product that combines two products (a pan and food scale into one) ridding the need for two separate products!

Are Smaller Products Better?

Anyone who studies and observes the trends taking place in product design over the past couple of years will have noticed that products are becoming smaller and smaller. While some aspects do get bigger (screen sizes on phones for example), their capabilities and functionalities increase. However, digital products aside, compact products are a big trend in innovating traditional products. There are many advantages to compact products such as saving space, multi-functionality, and having a second, smaller, and cheaper version of a more expensive traditional item. However, just because an item has been redesigned to be made smaller and more compact, does not mean that it necessarily performs better. Our Florida industrial design studio understands that it is a smart strategy to market a product as being more efficient and handier than its large predecessor, but sometimes, the smaller product does not perform as well as its traditional design.

The Polaroid Hi-Print is a compact product that replaces the need for a full-sized printer all in one smartphone-sized product!

One must always remember when designing that the main focus is to create a functional, working product. If you focus on approaching your design or redesign with only make the product smaller and more compact with the least amount of functionality, you negate the idea of innovating a product and rather create a cheaper, less efficient product that can be risky to put out in the market. While it might be cost-efficient to make a smaller product if your product design isn’t compatible with what the overall function of the product is meant to do, it’s is better to stick to an appropriately fitting product design that allows for maximum efficiency and functionality. Not only will you see higher success in your product performance but will run into fewer design mishaps and mistakes along the way. We recommend going for a compact product design when you are 100% sure that your product will be functional. For this, our Florida industrial design studio recommends the MVP method and to choose a simple job or function that can work for a compact design, rather than something complicated of multi-functional in order to really focus and perfect the performance of your product.

Check out the Intellipan here for a perfect example of a compact product!

If you have a great new invention and you’d like to learn more about this process, get in touch with MAKO here and visit our website to find out more. Feel free to give us a call at 1-888-MAKO and we can set you up on a call with our product analyst!

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!